Brooklyn Center man who fatally shot friend gets 21 years

A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison -- longer than state guidelines recommend -- for spraying bullets at a group, fatally striking a teenage friend in the head, during a confrontation at a park in a Brooklyn Park.

Deshawn D. Roberts, of Brooklyn Center, was silent during sentencing Monday in Hennepin County District Court, but his attorney said his client has been remorseful from the moment he realized he had shot Terrence T. Creamer, 16, in the parking lot of Central Park on April 24.

Even though he noted in court that Roberts thought of Creamer as his little brother, Judge William Koch approved the agreement calling for Roberts to plead guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and receive a 21-year prison term, nearly five years longer than guidelines recommend.

Assistant County Attorney Christina Warren said the longer term was justified because Roberts was shooting at someone else and because of "the risk to all the other people in the park that day."

The criminal complaint said police arrived at the park about 8:30 p.m. and found Creamer bleeding and unconscious.

Witnesses said that a group of people had been at the park for a barbecue. There had been a disagreement that prompted some people to meet in the parking lot, where Roberts apparently was going to fight another man.

During the confrontation, Roberts pulled a gun and started shooting.

Roberts told authorities that he shot his 9-millimeter gun about six or seven times at people in the parking lot, but that he didn't intend to hit Creamer.